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The guild had requested funds for The Patriotic Concert, its free summertime community musical event with two performances at the Milton High School auditorium.

A third organization, Milton Youth Tri, a youth competitive athletic event, had asked for $2,500, but organizers withdrew the request. The funds would have helped cover event operational expenses and essential safety equipment to “ensure a secure and enjoyable experience for all participating athletes, volunteers and spectators.”

Last month, the council had delayed a vote on allocating the funds so it could receive “more information” after a presentations by representatives of each organization.

“I don’t really have any issues with anything happening here. I just need some time to ask questions to get some answers I need,” Alderperson Ken Smith said in October as he moved to defer the decision to Tuesday.

Smith was not in attendance Tuesday.

Milton Historical Society

The historical society requested an additional $10,000 for the Milton House Museum, which would have brought its allocation in the 2026 budget to $20,000. The city has a policy to automatically allocate $10,000 to the historical society in the annual budget.

Alderperson Derek Henze, who put forward the resolution, said he’s a “big supporter and advocate of the Milton House.” He said the city is working with a “tight budget” but is doing “well financially” as it projects a surplus in 2026.

City Administrator Paul Hensch suggested the council revisit the requests early in 2026, to see if the city’s financial picture is more conducive then to approval.

“We’d probably revisit this in February and let’s see what we can do with those surplus funds, those residual funds for this year,” Hensch said.

The requested funds would have gone toward hourly staff at the museum. Hourly staff includes one part-time employee and a year-round office manager position as well as summer docents hired to help with seasonal tours from June to September.

“These hourly employees play a key role in providing operational support to the executive director and ensure that the museum can adequately handle the increased visitor traffic experienced during these months,” Keighton Klos, the museum’s executive director, said in a report to the city.

According to Klos’ report, hiring hourly staff costs the museum about $18,000 annually.

The museum added two full-time positions in February, which has helped it have a presence at Community Days for the first time and offer more of its own events. The museum has also been developing “History-in-a-Box” kits, which are rentable boxes for classroom use, and classroom visits.

The museum also plans to reach into the community, including launching audio and video tours as virtual options for those who cannot physically visit the museum.

Klos told the council in October that she thought the additional $10,000 would be a one-time request because of the new full-time hires but would not rule out making the request again.

Badger Chordhawks Chorus Guild

Badger Chordhawks Chorus Guild Executive Director Christopher Smith said the funds would have helped it cover production costs, including for the venue, staging, marketing and guest artist expenses for its annual Patriotic Concert.

According to the guild’s application, the 2026 concert has been planned for two days at the Milton High School auditorium. In 2025, it was held over the course of nine days between June 24 and July 5 starting at the Gathering Place in Milton. Then it proceeded to Clinton, Janesville, Edgerton, Beloit, back to the Gathering Place, back to Janesville, and back to the Gathering Place before concluding in Evansville.

“Our long-term goal is simple: to make Milton synonymous with The Patriotic Concert the same way people associate Sun Prairie with Flags of Freedom or Hometown Days is associated with Verona,” Smith said.

Henze said that the Chordhawks is a “wonderful organization” but he was concerned that it’s an organization that is not primarily stationed in Milton.

“I’m a veteran myself, so I love the support and everything you’re doing to support veterans. But, ultimately knowing that, it makes sense to give taxpayer money to a great cause like that but to give it to something else,” Henze said.

Alderperson Molly Budlong said she loves the purpose behind the performances but would not support the funding as it stood.

“If we could come to a solution or you know, change it in the future, I’d be in full support of that,” Budlong said.

Overall budget

The city is proposing a $6.07 million budget for 2026, up from $5.8 million in 2025 and $5.6 million in 2024.

If the budget were to be approved as is, the tax rate would be $7.17, a $0.60 increase. That would result in a $2,151 tax bill on a $300,000 home. The tax levy would be just over $3.9 million, up from $3.69 in 2025 and $3.67 million in 2024.

The budget is scheduled to be adopted on Nov. 18 when the council meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 710 S. Janesville St.